Growing Urbanisation

Only very few in our country can understand how mind-boggling the problems of immense magnitude are staring in the face due to growing urbanization in India. For example, in 1970, when my father bought a place 25KMs away from the centre of the city thinking that this place is the best place for retirement, but in 2008, the city has grown so big that even beyond 50KMs it is difficult to find a quiet place and everywhere there is this maddening crowds. What does this show, understand from the census that during the last 50 years, India has, on an average, been adding about five or six million people to its towns and cities. I also feel that the Government of India has been neglecting the agricultural sector, and this is one of the main reason for the growing (exploding) urbanization. People leave their villages, as farming alone is not sufficient to meet one's ends, migrating towards cities for better prospects. The urban population in India will cross 40% in the next decade or so, and it is already beyond 40% in some of the states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

Worst part is that there are absolutely no plans. The growing number of flats around the city, without any kind of proper planning, proper drainage, proper drinking water distribution, Electricity (but power comes now and then), is amazing. I took a walk around my house in Chennai, I felt really bad. Every where the drainage is blocked and constant stagnant of dirty water in the (open) drains. There is no beginning and no end for these drains (very funny). What happens to all the garbage that is being generated and near my house, in Chennai, there is no garbage collection but once in three days, the garbage is being burnt in open area, adding more whatever possible to the environment.

What can be done? How and when we will know that we have to keep our surroundings clean. We want to keep our house clean but we are not worried about what happens in our street. Does anyone has an answer?

In my next post, Agriculture sector, is it being neglected in India?

Parliament Bazaar - Nuclear Deal

We already have a spiritual bazaar and now have the Parliament bazaar, wah, Great to hear such thing but I really feel ashamed to hear all the news in the media about MPs being bought, sold, stooping so low, where is the “Self Respect”. Is this the land that produced great leaders and great gurus? Very very pathetic, how foreign countries will look India, what kind of respect an Indian can earn in a foreign land. Too bad.

If we don’t know something, then better listen and learn - instead, forming one’s own opinion is a disaster and this is what is happening in India. The opposition is portraying this nuclear deal as Manmohan-Bush deal. What they don’t understand is that this deal is between India and the World. This deal will help India to get the nuclear fuels from the NSG countries and in order to reach them we have to pass through US which is standing as a watchman in front of the nuclear room where all NSG countries are seated. US is only one of the players of NSG among the 45 odd countries.

All these MPs don’t think of India’s growth and development, the rate at which our economy is growing, we need a massive energy capacity and this can not come from Oil and coal alone. Even if we have to consider alternative sources of energy like wind, solar etc that can not meet the energy demands in next 15 or 20 years. Though at present, nuclear energy is less than 4% of our total installed capacity, by entering in to this deal, India can build more nuclear stations and can be assured of nuclear fuel from any of these NSG countries.

I like to quote the word of Anil Kakodkar, India's atomic energy chairman,
“The bilateral agreement for nuclear cooperation, also known as the 123 Agreement between India and USA will not hamper India’s ability to independently continue nuclear research and if we don’t sign this deal now, HISTORY WILL NEVER FORGIVE US”